Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 278

“I always say, Arendt.”Laius shook his hands and calmly began to speak.

“If you’re going to cause trouble, at least report it in advance.”

“It’s annoying. You’ll join in just fine even without me saying anything.”

Arendt answered calmly.

At his feet stood a dark elf warrior who had just been beaten half to death and was convulsing in pain.

Arthur, who had been nudging the unconscious elf with his foot, raised his head and grumbled at Zakar.

“Instructor Zakar has also changed a bit. I don’t think he used tricks like this before.”

“I didn’t use any tricks. I just thought that if I handed it over to Arendt, he would be able to resolve it somehow.”

“That’s a trick.”

Despite Richt’s criticism, Zakar’s expression did not change at all.

It certainly looked like he had become quite shameless.

This time Glenn shook his head.

“Seems like Arendt was right after all.”

“Why do you treat people like contagious diseases?”

Rider snapped back at Arendt’s sudden, blunt response.

“You don’t know? You are the plague itself.”

This was Arendt’s room.

They were talking with the groans of Shadow Elves who had been beaten and were lying around in all directions as the background sound.

The moonlight streaming through the open window caressed the elves’ bruised and puffy faces.

The few objects and furniture that remained were broken and shattered, strewn about beside the unconscious elves.

The dark elf treasure, the shaman Salem, who was kept in the safest place in the room where such a gruesome sight unfolded, was trembling with fear on his face.

“Oh, how did this happen…”

Arendt responded with a pitying tone to Salem, who was swallowing dryly and looking like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“I told you. It’s not easy to trust a person’s good intentions. Anyone who approaches you with a kind face is a conman.”

“Don’t listen to him, Salem. Not all people are like that. And even if you trust everyone else, you shouldn’t trust him. He’s the biggest conman in the Empire.”

It was Arthur’s serious advice. but that didn’t seem to reach Salem’s ears.

Salem’s bewildered gaze remained motionless on the fallen warriors.

“…”

This was the result of following Arendt’s words.

He told his closest subordinate exactly what happened that day, and he smiled kindly and agreed with him.

Salem, feeling better, went back to the Third Knights’ dormitory without telling anyone, as Arendt had said.

And this was the disaster that awaited him.

“What did I…what did I do wrong?”

Salem, who had been staring blankly, muttered in a trembling voice.

“No, you did nothing wrong. You were just tricked by me. And those idiots made an over-the-top move.”

Arendt kicked the fallen elf’s head with his foot.

Richt sighed deeply and glanced at Arendt.

“Now explain to me. What on earth could have caused this to happen?”

It seemed like everyone else, except Zakar, had similar thoughts.

Arendt shrugged, conscious of the gazes gathered around him.

“I told you a little bit about the situation in the Fourth Kingdom. They are coveting the artifact.”

From the story Salem told, the dark elves learned that the artifact in question was in the hands of Arendt, not the Crown Prince.

It was natural that the dark elves saw this as a golden opportunity.

“If they all came rushing in, they probably thought they could easily subdue one person. They probably thought they could threaten or kill me, or steal the Unquenchable Heart.”

Unfortunately, what was waiting for them was the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman, Laius, and Zakar, considered the strongest among the elves.

The elves were left helpless as other knights who had been called in as extras joined in.

“They just realized how presumptuous that idea was.”

Arendt sat down on the stack of elves that made a chair.

A scream came from below, but he paid no attention and turned his gaze to Zakar.

“Instructor Zakar, I found it a bit surprising. Did you notice something odd on the way here?”

“The atmosphere was definitely not good. However, since it was something that belonged to a different tribe, it was somewhat difficult for me to get involved myself.

Zakar admitted it readily.

“But I felt that if we raised the issue publicly after arriving in the Empire, it would break the trust between humans and elves.”

So he tried to solve everything by pushing Salem in front of Arendt.

He had intended to tell Arendt directly sooner or later if he hadn’t noticed, but now there was no need to do that.

“It seems you’ve finally realized that the direct approach isn’t always the answer. I’ll give you credit for that, at least.”

Arendt nodded with satisfaction and turned his gaze back to the elves sprawled on the floor.

“Hey.”

Sitting on top of the elves, Arendt kicked the elf warrior who had fallen at his feet.

“Don’t pretend to faint. I saw your eyes moving earlier.”

“…”

But there was no response.

His beautiful face was swollen and droopy, making him look like he had actually fainted.

Arendt, who had been looking at him with indifferent eyes, opened his mouth again.

“It seems like he’s passed out, so there’s nothing we can do. We have to beat him until he comes to.”

“Something happened! No! Sorry!”

The startled elf sat up abruptly and knelt down.

The eyes of the group watching this scene couldn’t help but tremble.

“We are all knights, but who would call that person a knight after seeing that…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Those back-alley thugs call that guy ‘big brother.’”

As Rider sighed again, Arthur also muttered with a tired face.

Arendt, who sat like an arrogant king on top of the piled up sacrificial lambs, was clearly the villain in anyone’s eyes.

Looking at the current situation, it wouldn’t be strange if the elves were misunderstood as the victims.

“What was your name? Damon, I think? Tell me an excuse for this situation.”

Arendt asked, shaking his crossed legs to make a point.

“Did your Grand Elder order you to do this? To steal the artifact and come back?”

Damon stayed silent and said nothing.

The hands that were placed on top of his knees were clenched tightly.

A sinister voice continued above the bowed head of the elf warrior.

“Did he say that Salem was useless, so just leave him behind in the Empire, and take the artifact that has the same function?”

“…Is that true?”

Salem, who had been quiet, couldn’t stand it anymore blurted out those words.

“Did the Grand Elder really say that? That I was useless?”

“No, wait, Salem! How could that be possible!”

Damon suddenly came to his senses and quickly lifted his head.

“The Grand Elder was just worried about Salem! Even if the Evil God has returned, it is not easy to trust humans…”

But the answer came not from Salem, but from Arendt.

“The person who said he was worried did something like this?”

Damon raised his head and met Arendt’s eyes, and froze stiffly.

In the golden eyes that resembled moonlight, he felt a coldness that made his heart freeze.

“It seems like you don’t understand the situation. Even if I draw my sword and kill you all right now, the Grand Elder won’t say anything. Of course, that includes Salem.”

“…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that brat, but since he’s a commander, he should take responsibility for his subordinates’ mistakes.”

They attacked knights belonging to the Imperial Knights, and even tried to steal items belonging to the Imperial Family.

It was an inexcusable felony.

Damon’s face turned pale.

“But Salem…!”

“That’s what happened between you and the Grand Elder.”

The words he was barely able to spit out as an excuse were cut off mid-sentence.

“If you were going to mess with that kid, you should have been smarter.”

“…”

Damon, who had turned pale, couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Arendt stared at him with eyes that showed no emotion.

“Tsk, you damn elf punks.”

After a long while, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“I never liked Grand Elder Altair. He keeps bothering people.”

“That… I won’t make excuses, but on a personal level, I would like to ask for your leniency.”

Zakar continued, frowning slightly.

“If there is internal conflict right now, it will be difficult. I also wonder how Shekhinah and Ragnald will take it. They don’t have good feelings towards humans, especially you. If you provoke them too much, they might rebel.”

“Well, okay. There’s no need to waste time.”

Arendt grumbled irritably, uncrossing his legs.

“I’ll make sure that Grand Elder Altair pays me back later. It’s the tab Instructor Zakar passed on.”

“He sold out Grand Elder Altair.”

“Seems like Arendt was right after all.”

As Arthur and Richt added their comments, Zakar slowly averted his gaze.

The tense atmosphere, as if someone was about to draw their sword at any moment, suddenly relaxed as if it had been a lie.

Damon, who was so tense that his whole body ached, looked at those who were talking nonchalantly with dumb eyes.

He felt so weak that it felt like all the blood was draining from his body.

His back was soaking wet with cold sweat.

“Hey.”

Damon, who had been standing there blankly, straightened his back in surprise at Arendt’s call.

“Yes, yes!”

Arendt spoke, adjusting his posture while still sitting on the elves.

“First, tell me everything you know. Is there something Salem doesn’t know?”

“…”

Damon couldn’t say anything and just moved his lips.

Salem, whose name was suddenly mentioned, also tensed up.

“You’d better think carefully. You probably don’t know how many lives are at stake with every word you say right now.”

Arendt’s plain voice continued.

“This is purely a kind favour, so you’d better listen.”

“Favor? Kind?”

As Glenn muttered in confusion, doubting his ears, Laius quietly offered advice.

“I understand how you feel, but just keep quiet. If we start pointing out everything now, it’ll never end.”

From the very beginning, it was absurd that they had gotten into a physical fight with the elf warriors who were sent on the mission.

These damn subordinates didn’t even seem to realize it anymore.

While the light chatter continued, Damon’s eyes were always on Salem.

“…”

His large, amber eyes, filled with a mixture of worry, betrayal, and sadness, kept looking at Damon with a clear gaze.

As if to tell him to say something.

Eventually, Damon lowered his head, avoiding Salem’s eyes.

“I have no intention of ever being hostile to the Holy Empire. I hope you can trust me on that.”

After hesitating for a while, a muffled voice came out of his mouth.

“I was planning on apologizing later. However, I had unavoidable circumstances…”

“Oh, it’s an unavoidable circumstance.”

Arendt’s eyes sparkled.

This was exactly the topic he had been waiting for.